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Sound Transit investigates light rail accident

Link light rail resumed normal service Tuesday while Sound Transit investigates what caused a train to derail just before entering the main track before rush hour.

The accident happened about 3 p.m. just after the 2-car train rolled out from the central operations and maintenance center in Sodo. The southbound track was temporarily blocked. Crews were able to get the train back on the tracks after midnight.

Sound Transit has notified state officials, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Transit Administration, which is standard in these types of mishaps. The train operator was placed on paid administrative leave and was required to undergo a drug test, which also is standard as Sound Transit and King County investigate, Sound Transit spokesman Bruce Gray said.

The train derailed at a switch on a section of elevated track as the train was entering service on the southbound side of the line. Two readers of this blog speculated that there might have been a split switch, causing the front wheels to go one way and the rear wheels to go the other. Sound Transit has not yet determined what caused the accident, Gray said.

Typically, the trains are moving at speeds slower than 10 mph when entering the track at that point, Gray said.

Monday’s stormy and rainy weather was not a factor in the accident, Gray said.

A handrail and concrete slabs were damaged, although there was no damage to the switch or the track, Gray said.

With the southbound track blocked, Sound Transit ran both northbound and southbound trains on the northbound track between the Mount Baker, Beacon Hill and Sodo stations. All passengers had to board from the northbound platforms.

“We were still able to move a lot of people and I saw lots of packed cars coming through,” Gray said. “But one thing we’re talking about in our own debriefing is how to get to word out to passengers on platforms better than we did last night. People were very patient but they would be even more so if they had more information.”

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.